How to grow melons Cultivation Melons are tender annuals producing climbing or scrambling growth, so they will need a fair amount of space and proper training to produce a worthwhile crop. Melons need plenty of warmth and good sunlight to grow and fruit well. Melon varieties There are three main types of melons: Cantaloupe: ribbed, rough fruit, orange-coloured flesh, which are most likely to do well in cool climates.
Good varieties: Charentais, Edonis, Ogen, Sweetheart. Honeydew: firm yellow flesh, which keep well. Good variety: Magenta. Musk: yellow or green-netted skin, green to orange-coloured flesh, which are only worthwhile growing in a greenhouse or similar. Good varieties: Blenheim Orange, Early Dawn. Related products. Find a store. Buy now. Related articles. Read more. Oranges are not the only fruit Members of the citrus family — oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits and so on — are prized for their flavoursome fruits They colonize quickly, so be vigilant in inspecting your plants, especially under the leaves and on the vines.
As the aphids feed on plant leaves, they excrete honeydew, which attracts ants and other insects. They are easily controlled by knocking them off plants with a sharp stream of water or by applying insecticidal soap. Cucumber beetles , which have both spotted and striped species, are common melon pests that chew holes in leaves and pass a pathogen that causes bacterial wilt that can kill your plant in a matter of days.
You need to stay ahead of the problem to keep your plants viable until harvest. Inspect under plant leaves for eggs, which should be scraped off, and hand-pick any adult beetles you find. If a cucumber beetle problem arose one year, chances are it will happen again the following year.
Practice crop rotation so the cucumber beetle population does not build up in your garden. The striped cucumber beetle not only causes damage to foliage, but it also carries a bacterial wilt pathogen that particularly affects cantaloupes and muskmelons.
Cutworms wrap themselves around the stems of young plants and chow down. They are actually moth larvae and can be controlled with paper collars around the stems. Flea beetles are small black or bronze jumping leaf beetles, just an eighth of an inch long. These chewing insects can be kept off young melon vines with floating row cover. Another strategy is to plant a trap crop of radishes, which flea beetles prefer over melons.
By summer, melon vines are established enough to shrug off flea beetle damage, and their presence then should not raise concerns. Root-knot nematodes form galls in melon roots, where they steal nutrients. If you go heavy on water and fertilizer, an affected melon plant may still be able to produce. However, if you know nematodes are present, plant resistant varieties or practice crop rotation by refraining from planting nightshades in that garden bed for three or four years, so the nematode population subsides.
Whiteflies are similar to aphids in that they suck sap and cover plants in honeydew — and are vectors for diseases. They are naturally controlled by wasps, but melon vines can also be treated with insecticidal soap. For the sweetest melons, consider reducing the number of melons per vine by selecting the best-looking and sacrificing the others. Cantaloupes and other muskmelons are ready to harvest when the rind changes color from a gray-green to a dull yellow.
The melon should still be firm, but some gentle pressure from your thumb against the stem will separate a ripe fruit from the plant. Honeydew is ready to be picked when the skin turns completely white or yellow — depending on the variety. A ripe honeydew should be removed from the vine with garden shears.
Do not attempt to pull it off the vine, as you would with a cantaloupe. To tell when a watermelon is ready to be picked, examine the tendrils closest to where the stem meets the fruit. When the tendrils turn brown and dry, the watermelon is ready to be picked — with shears.
A ripe watermelon will sound hollow when you knock on it. You can harvest a melon before it is ripe and keep it stored at room temperature. Once ripe, enjoy, or keep it refrigerated and serve it within a few days.
When the tendrils turn brown and dry, the watermelon is ready to be picked. What are your secrets to successfully growing melons? Let us know in the comments below. Ready to have more of your gardening questions answered? Sign up to receive gardening resources, eBooks and email updates on the joegardener podcast and more.
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Home How to Grow plants How to grow melons from seed. Step 1. Growing melons from seed — sowing the seed. Growing melons from seed — melon seedlings. Growing melons from seed — watering the plant. Growing melons from seed — tying in the plant. Growing melons from seed — female melon flower. Growing melons from seed — pollinating the flowers.
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